Source: Richard Bandler

Master the art of change by learning to clear a space for a new state. You can do this by breaking or interrupting the current state. States may be useful or not-useful, functional or dysfunctional. NLP makes extensive use of breaking states, and there are many ways to do it. Confusion is a guaranteed state breaker. You can guide a person to the state of your choosing rapidly from a state of confusion.

Step 1: Identify the state you experience. #

Recognize what state you are in and name it. It may not be as clear-cut as depression, boredom, or anger, but you can come up with a name that captures the essence of the state. To help you find a name, notice the feeling of the state or the direction it carries your thoughts.

Step 2: Initiate an interruption by exaggerating a driving sub-modality. #

Notice how this state is represented in your sense modalities. Identify a sub-modality feature that is important to this state. Change that feature to make it absurd. For example, if you hear a voice that says, “I am not worthy of love,” change that tone of voice into that of a cartoon character. Or if you feel a throb of depression when you have a certain thought, take a break and work through a rational procedure such as a series of 7’s (7, 14, 21, 28…)

Step 3: Test. #

Notice whether your state has changed significantly. If not, the problem may be in your choice of sub-modality feature. You may not have found an impactful one. Experiment with how you change the sub-modality to make it absurd.